The Department of Fine Arts offers a B.A. with a Major or Minor in Art History. The
study of Art History is integral to the study of art and visual culture. With its increasingly
interdisciplinary approach, Art History encompasses a broad range of visual, cultural and social
studies. An art history background provides valuable insight into history, philosophy and the
humanities in general. Course offerings range from an introduction to World Art to more focused
examinations of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, including Canadian Art, Contemporary Art,
and Women in Art. Advanced seminars are also offered on subjects ranging from critical issues
around Modernism and Postmodernism, Feminist and Gender Studies, Museum Studies, Art Criticism
and Theory, and Photography and Film Studies. Students majoring in Art History are also
encouraged to do a Special Topics paper on a specific area of interest. Courses are also offered
for credit as Art History courses in Classics, Philosophy, English, History, and Modern Languages
and Literatures. The Owens Art Gallery is an invaluable resource for the study of Art History and
for the Fine Arts Department. Further resources include Fine Arts field trips and a Visiting
Artists' Program.
FINH 1991 (3.00)
Special Topic in Art History
This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. (Format: Variable) [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for FINH 1991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.]
FINH 2001 (3.00)
World Art From the First Peoples to the End of the Middle Ages
Exclusion: FINA 2001
This course surveys art and architecture from the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe within their historical and cultural context. The course will emphasize how works of art are produced in a variety of media. This introductory course is designed for students with no previous background in the history of art and architecture. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)
FINH 2011 (3.00)
World Art From the Renaissance to the Present
Exclusion: FINA 2011
This course surveys art and architecture from the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe within their historical and cultural context. The course will emphasize how works of art are produced in a variety of media. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)
FINH 2991 (3.00)
Special Topic in Art History
This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. (Format: Variable) [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for FINH 2991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.]
FINH 3021 (3.00)
Canadian Art From Its Beginnings to the 1960S
Prereq: FINA 2001 and 2011 or FINH 2001 and 2011; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: FINA 3021
This course surveys the history of art in Canada from its beginnings to the 1960s within its historical, social, political, and cultural contexts and considers the ways in which art history and its narratives function. The course covers: the art of Canada's First Nations; topographical and portrait traditions in the Colonial period; landscape painting and the idea of Nationhood; mysticism and nature in Canadian painting; art and democracy; formal experimentation and the urban space in the art of the Inter-War Years; the development of Canadian sculpture; modernism in Canadian painting; Quebec art, politics, and the Church; and the development of abstraction. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)
FINH 3031 (3.00)
Canadian Art From the 1960S to the Present
Prereq: FINA 2001 and 2011 or FINH 2001 and 2011; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: FINA 3031
This course considers visual art in Canada from the mid-1960s to the present. It looks at a range of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, video, audio, performance, installation, and Internet art. It investigates current issues in contemporary art practice including cultural identity, the politics of representation, gender and the body, audience, and censorship. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)
FINH 3041 (3.00)
Museum Studies
Prereq: Two Art History courses; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: FINA 3041
This course examines the art museum within contemporary society. It considers the history and future shape of the museum, and examines current practice, issues, and debate. Topics covered include: the politics of the museum; its history and discourse; curatorial practice and the development of exhibitions; the museum and its publics; museums and new media; collections; and issues of artistic freedom and censorship. (Format: Seminar 3 Hours)
FINH 3051 (3.00)
Twentieth Century Art to 1940
Prereq: FINA 2001 and 2011 or FINH 2001 and 2011; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: FINA 3051
This course examines art and architecture in Europe and North America from 1900 to 1940. It covers schools and movements including the Secession, Expressionism, The Fauves, Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism, Abstraction, Dada, Surrealism, and Social Realism, as well as artists working independently of any formal group. The architectural movements covered include Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, De Stijl, Prairie style, and International style. Issues addressed in this course include gender, psychoanalysis, "primitivism," and the politics of colonialism and international warfare. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)
FINH 3061 (3.00)
Modern Art From 1940 to 1970
Prereq: FINA 2001 and 2011; or permission of the Department
This course examines art and architecture in Europe and the United States from 1940 to 1970. It considers schools and movements including Abstract Expressionism, CoBrA, Pop Art, Junk Art, Minimalism, Kinetic Art, Op Art, Land Art, Process Art, Conceptual Art, Arte Povera and Performance Art, as well as artists and architects working independently of any formal group. Issues addressed in this course include notions of modernism and the avant-garde, gender, international warfare, post-World War II consumerism, internationalism, and the role of art critics in shaping a "canon" for twentieth-century art. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)
FINH 3071 (3.00)
Contemporary Art Since 1970
Prereq: FINA 2001 and 2011 or FINH 2001 and 2011; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: FINA 3071
This course examines contemporary art and architecture since 1970 and focuses on themes including the body and identity. Topics include naturally, and culturally, constructed bodies, gender identity, sexual identities, ethnic bodies, abject bodies, and political and religious identities. This course will include art in a variety of media including the bodies of humans and animals, painting, sculpture, assemblage, installation, photography, printmaking, architecture, textiles, film, video, and performance art. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)
FINH 3081 (3.00)
Women, Art and Society
Prereq: FINA 2001 and 2011 or FINH 2001 and 2011; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: FINA 3081
This course offers a history of women in art and society, with examples from the Medieval period through to the practice of women artists in contemporary culture. Drawing on social history, feminism and its implications, and the representation of women in the visual arts, this course will provide a better understanding of the situation of women artists within different social, regional and global contexts. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)
FINH 3141 (3.00)
Nineteenth Century Art, Part One
Prereq: FINA 2001 and 2011 or FINH 2001 and 2011; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: FINA 3141
This course examines art and architecture during the first half of the nineteenth century in the United States and Western Europe (particularly Belgium, England, France, Germany and Spain). This course includes art in a variety of media and will pay particular attention to the inventions of lithography and photography during this time. Artistic movements such as Neo-Classicism, Romanticism and Realism will be considered in this course along with artists who worked independently from these movements. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)
FINH 3241 (3.00)
Nineteenth Century Art, Part Two
Prereq: FINA 2001 and 2011 or FINH 2001 and 2011; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: FINA 3241
This course examines art and architecture during the second half of the nineteenth century in the United States and Western Europe (particularly Belgium, England, France, Germany and Spain). This course includes art in a variety of media and will pay particular attention to innovations in the production of photographs, etchings, and posters during this time. Artistic movements such as Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impression and Art Nouveau will be considered in this course. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)
FINH 3991 (3.00)
Special Topic in Art History
This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. (Format: Variable) [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for FINH 3991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.]
FINH 4041 (3.00)
Art Criticism and Theory
Prereq: FINA 2001 and 2011 or FINH 2001 and 2011 plus six additional credits in Art History at the 3/4000 level; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: FINA 4041, FINA 4051
A study of art criticism and theory within a selected time frame with emphasis on the writings of critics, artists and philosophers. (Format: Lecture 3 Hour)
FINH 4091 (3.00)
Advanced Seminar in Art History
Prereq: FINA 2001 and 2011 or FINH 2001 and 2011 plus six additional credits in Art History at the 3/4000 level; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: FINA 4091
This course is a research seminar on key issues in nineteenth and twentieth century art, with topics to vary from term to term. Emphasis will be placed on contemporary, theoretical, methodological and critical approaches to the art of the recent past. (Format: Seminar 3 Hours)
FINH 4950 (6.00)
Independent Study in Art History
This course permits senior students, under the direction of faculty members, to pursue their interest in areas not covered, or not covered in depth, by other courses through a program of independent study. (Format: Independent Study) [Note 1: Permission of the Department/Program Advisor. Students must obtain consent of an instructor who is willing to be a supervisor and must register for the course prior to the last day for change of registration in the term during which the course is being taken. Note 2: A program on Independent Study cannot duplicate subject matter covered through regular course offerings. Note 3: Students may register for FINH 4950/51 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.]
FINH 4951 (3.00)
Independent Study in Art History
This course permits senior students, under the direction of faculty members, to pursue their interest in areas not covered, or not covered in depth, by other courses through a program of independent study. (Format: Independent Study) [Note 1: Permission of the Department/Program Advisor. Students must obtain consent of an instructor who is willing to be a supervisor and must register for the course prior to the last day for change of registration in the term during which the course is being taken. Note 2: A program on Independent Study cannot duplicate subject matter covered through regular course offerings. Note 3: Students may register for FINH 4950/51 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.]
FINH 4991 (3.00)
Special Topic in Art History
This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. (Format: Variable) [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for FINH 4991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.]